"Alright, I'm here; what do you want?"

Rebekah pranced into the boarding house, walking straight past Damon and over to the liquor cart to pour herself a drink. Damon sighed and shook his head, shutting the door. "I wanted to… talk to you."

"About what? Your latest booty call?" Rebekah asked, downing a shot of tequila. Damon frowned. "For the last time, nothing happened…!"

"Save it, Damon; I don't even care anymore."

Damon frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Rebekah shrugged, pouring another shot. "I've been keeping myself busy. What do you want to talk about?"

Damon sighed. "Well, I was stupid enough to wonder if you wanted to go to a ball with me, but evidently you don't, so…"

Rebekah frowned, suddenly curious. "Wait… what? What do you mean, a ball? This isn't the 1800s, Damon…"

Damon pulled a pair of tickets out of his pocket with a flourish. "The city a few towns over is holding some kind of theme ball, and I was wondering if you wanted to go."

Rebekah looked considering. "Well, what's the theme?" she asked, taking her shot and putting the glass down, walking over at him and snagging one of the tickets. She grinned, "Oh, excellent; I've been looking for an excuse to wear my favorite dress again."

"So… is that a yes?" Damon asked uncertainly. Rebekah smiled at him. "Yes, it is. I suppose I can overlook your recent mistake; so long as it doesn't happen again."

Damon fought the urge to roll his eyes, and chose instead to smile. "Great."

The door opened at that moment, and Elena and Caroline walked in laughing, and their laughter stopped short when they realized who was standing in front of them. Caroline frowned, and Elena smiled cautiously. "Hi," she said and Rebekah smiled bitterly. "Hello."

Elena noticed the ticket in Rebekah's hand and beamed. "You two are going to the ball together?"

Damon nodded as did Rebekah. "Well, he's my boyfriend, so it would only make sense that we attend together."

Elena, naïve as she was, didn't detect the accusatory tone in Rebekah's voice. But Caroline did and her frown deepened. "Can I talk to you for a second, Damon?"

Damon nodded and followed Caroline outside.

"What's your problem?" he asked in confusion and Caroline shook her head, pointing to the house, indicating that Rebekah could hear. Instead she pulled out her cellphone and texted him, glaring. He picked up his cellphone in confusion and read her message.

Why the hell are you going to the ball with HER?

Damon sighed and texted her back. Caroline glanced at her phone when she received the message.

It's what Elena wants.

Caroline raised a suggestive eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes, frowning at her. Caroline grinned and sent him another message.

Do you love her?

Damon stared in disbelief at the message, and then texted the honest truth.

I don't know.

… . … . … . … . …

"So; what was it like, sleeping with my boyfriend?"

Elena stared in disbelief at Rebekah; did she still believe that? "I didn't sleep with him. It isn't like that between us."

"Oh? Did he compel you to say that?"

Elena frowned. "No, he didn't. Damon's a good person; he wouldn't do that to me."

Rebekah laughed shortly. "Clearly you don't know Damon at all, Elena."

"We didn't sleep together. I was lost, and he saved me from a vampire and then let me spend the night…"

"The night, eh? Then why are you still here three days later?"

"I don't know how to get home. Caroline and Damon are helping me."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "That's all very sweet, but I don't really care. You can stay here as long as you want as long as you stay away from Damon."

Elena glared, suddenly annoyed. "Why? From what Caroline has told me, you don't treat him very well, so why should you care what he does?"

Rebekah glared and stalked up to her. Elena took a startled step back from the vampire in front of her. "Mind your own business, trollop," Rebekah hissed just as the door opened and Damon and Caroline walked back in. Damon frowned. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Rebekah said, tearing her eyes away from Elena's frightened face. "I have to go; if I'm going to that ball tomorrow night, I'll need to have my dress cleaned." She walked over and kissed Damon's cheek, tossed Elena one last glare, and left. When she was gone, Damon quickly walked up to Elena. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"

Elena shook her head. "I'm fine… she was just… making a few things clear."

Damon frowned. "What did she say?"

Elena shook her head. "Don't worry about it; everything is fine." Elena gave him a tiny smile. "I'm happy for you, Damon."

Caroline looked the exact opposite of happy, though. "Now what are we going to do with your dress?" she asked Elena, pouting. Elena gave a small shrug. "I wasn't planning on going, anyway… you should go, Caroline."

Caroline shook her head. "I don't want to go alone… and no one could take me, anyway. Everyone thinks I'm dead."

For someone who had just gotten back together with his British, blonde, bombshell girlfriend Damon looked the exact opposite of happy. He sighed. "I'm… going to go look for something to wear."

Elena and Caroline watched him walk up the stairs, and Elena frowned. "You don't think he's upset because Rebekah's angry I'm still here, do you?"

Caroline shook her head. "No… no, that's not why he's upset."

Elena glanced at her. "Then… why?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Well… maybe he's going to the ball with the wrong girl."

Elena blinked a few times and shook her head. "Don't be silly… he loves her."

Caroline grinned a bit, "Whatever you say, Elena."

… . … . … . … . …

"How far away is this place, anyway?"

Jeremy was watching Stefan as he drove along a seemingly endless highway they had drove onto late last night. "It's hard to say; knowing Katherine, she'll have made it as hard for anyone to find it as possible. It could take us a few hours to get there, or a few days. It all depends…"

"Who is this Katherine chick, anyway?" Jeremy asked and Stefan sighed. "She was my girlfriend back in high school; let's just say, it didn't end well."

"She's a witch, right?"

Stefan nodded and Jeremy laughed. "Seeing as though you aren't a frog, it couldn't have ended that badly."

Stefan sighed. "You don't know the half of it, Jeremy; she was obsessed with me, and I broke her heart. She swore that I would never be happy with any girl unless it was her, and I guess this is her way of keeping her word."

"By kidnapping my sister and sending her to some hub for vampires?" Jeremy asked, frowning and Stefan nodded. "I guess so…"

He noticed Jeremy's worried expression and gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, Jeremy; you saw her. She's fine, and someone is taking care of her. All we have to do is find those someones and everything will all work out. She'll be home before you know it."

Jeremy nodded; he hoped he was right.

… . … . … . … . …

Elena walked up the stairs of the dimly lit house and paused in front of Damon's bedroom door. It was getting late, and she wanted to ask him if she could grab a shower before she went to bed. She didn't want a repeat of "the incident". If Rebekah caught them again, she probably would kill them both. Sighing, she knocked on the thick mahogany door and waited for him to reply. "Come in," he called and Elena opened the door and peaked inside. She grinned when she saw he was decked out in an old fashioned tux, complete with tails and a white bow tie. He was frowning at his reflection in the mirror, not bothering to turn around as he fiddled with his hair. "Well, don't you look dapper?"

Damon turned to face her and grinned. "You like it?"

She walked up to him and nodded. "It's incredible."

He smiled, but his smile slipped a bit. "I wish you would go. I hate that you got so excited, and that you bought a dress… and now you just aren't going."

She shrugged and fiddled with his bowtie, smiling at him. "It's okay; I didn't really want to go anyway."

Damon frowned. "Yes, you did."

Her smile slipped a bit. "Damon… it's okay, really. I was the one who told you to go with her, and she makes you happy…" Elena smiles softly, "That's all that matters, isn't it?"

Damon slowly nodded, but didn't smile. "I suppose…"

Elena smiled at him, and appraised his suit again. "This really is amazing… it's so authentic."

He grinned. "That's because it is. I've had it since 1864."

Her eyes widened. "You've had this for over 100 years?"

He nodded, "Yup." He glanced at her. "Did you need something?"

"Oh," she blushed, feeling foolish, "I was going to ask you if I could take a shower before I went to bed; I wasn't sure…"

Damon chuckled. "You don't have to ask, Elena."

"Well, we don't want a repeat of what happened the other day, do we? If we do, Rebekah would probably kill me…"

Damon frowned. "Rebekah won't hurt you, Elena. I won't let her hurt you."

She smiled at him. "That's good to know," she said with a small laugh. Damon tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm going to help you get home, Elena," he said, his eyes intense, "I promise." She smiled a bit and leaned into his touch. "There's no rush; I'm surprisingly happy right here. More happy then I've been in years, actually."

He smiled. "I'm glad."

Both of them looked at the door when it was suddenly opened even more, and Caroline stood in the doorway. She beamed when she noticed what was going on; Damon was touching Elena's cheek, and Elena was perfectly fine with it. It was adorable. "Sorry," Caroline giggled. "I was just going to ask you if I could borrow your laptop, Damon, but it looks like you're busy…"

Damon noticed the gleeful expression in her eyes and was reminded of their "conversation" earlier that afternoon.

Do you love her?

Damon pulled his hand away and took a step back. "No, go ahead. It's fine."

Caroline walked across the room and grabbed Damon's computer, giving Elena a suspicious look before walking out again. Elena was blushing. She gave Damon a small smile. "I should go," she said, starting for the door. She paused when Damon grabbed her hand, stopping her, "Elena."

She turned back to him. "Yes?"

He pulled her a bit closer to him. "I really wish that you were going," he quietly said before softly kissing her hand. Elena smiled at him as he straightened up again, releasing her hand. She was blushing and smiling shyly at him. "Goodnight, Damon.

"Goodnight," he said and she turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door.

When she was gone, Damon put his face in his hands. Damn it, he thought. Caroline is right; I…

"I love her," he said quietly to his reflection in the mirror. To his surprise, the confession made him smile.

Little did he know, it made Caroline smile, too.

Phase one complete, she thought to herself as she entered her bedroom.